Publication Type

Journal Article

Version

submittedVersion

Publication Date

3-2019

Abstract

Disruptive digital innovation (DDI) often creates hypercompetitive market environment that forces firms to be agile to survive and remain competitive. Whereas most studies have focused on larger firms' effort to be agile, few have looked at how small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) respond to DDI. The study attempts to answer the research question of how SMEs achieve agility to respond to DDI. Drawing on a case study of an innovative SME, our study develops a framework on agility based on the processes of mitigating organizational rigidity, developing innovative capabilities, and balancing the tension of organizational ambidexterity. Specifically, our findings show that for SMEs, mitigating organizational rigidity is enabled by the mechanism of achieving boundary openness while developing innovative capability is enabled by the mechanism of achieving organizational adaptability. At the same time, given the inherent challenges of resource constraints, SMEs also need to balance the tension of organizational ambidexterity.

Keywords

agility, capability, case study, disruptive digital innovation, rigidity, small‐ and medium‐sized enterprises, Singapore, Elixir Technology

Discipline

Asian Studies | Entrepreneurial and Small Business Operations | Technology and Innovation

Research Areas

Accounting Information System

Publication

Information Systems Journal

Volume

29

Issue

2

First Page

436

Last Page

455

ISSN

1350-1917

Identifier

10.1111/isj.12215

Publisher

Wiley: 12 months

Copyright Owner and License

Authors

Additional URL

https://doi.org/10.1111/isj.12215

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